The present invention relates to apparatus for exposing and developing photosensitive material, and more particularly to improvements in apparatus for exposing and developing so-called film units each of which comprises several sheet-like constituents and wherein the constituents of a film unit must be separated from each other during a certain stage of the developing operation.
As a rule, apparatus for exposing film units comprise a light source, a set of color filters, a platform which supports the original during imaging onto a film unit, and an adjustable optical system which images the original onto a film unit. The developing unit for the exposed film units is normally remote from the exposing means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,717 granted Mar. 14, 1967 to Okishima et al. discloses an apparatus wherein the exposing and developing units are assembled in a common housing. The photosensitive material is furnished in the form of a roll of photographic paper, and such paper is fed directly into the developing unit as soon as it leaves the exposing station. The developing unit includes several vessels each of which contains a different developing liquid. A drawback of the patented apparatus is that it occupies too much space. This is especially undesirable when the apparatus is to be used in a private home, e.g., by an amateur who desires to make his own enlarged prints of color photographic films. Moreover, the means for transporting the photosensitive material through the developing unit is complex and expensive. Still further, the number of liquid baths is substantial, and the photographer must ensure that each and every section of the exposed photographic paper remains in each of the baths for a different predetermined interval of time.